Few roads lead to NBA dynasty today

Steve Nash (AP file photo)

How do you get good in the NBA today?

Three ways.

There's the Stink-and-Pray. There's the Build-and-Pray. And, finally, there's the Your-City's-So-Awesome-Your-Prayers-Are-Answered.

This summer, we've seen teams try to improve by all three methods.

As for the Stink-and-Pray, this only works occasionally ? a team flounders, prays that it lands a star in the draft and, hallelujah, it happens. This happened in Oklahoma City with Kevin Durant, in San Antonio with Tim Duncan, even in Cleveland with LeBron James.

This summer, the Hornets nabbed Kentucky's Anthony Davis in the draft. He could be a Duncan-like player, in time.

The Build-and-Pray, this one is tough. That's going on here in Denver, where the Nuggets, like other teams around the league, are building a young, talented nucleus and praying that a couple of guys ascend to an all-star level.

As for the Your-City's-So-Awesome-Your-Prayers-Are-Answered method, well, basically a cool city entices great players, be it Miami with LeBron, New York with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, Los Angeles with Chris Paul and, so it seems, Los Angeles with Steve Nash.

The two biggest summer acquisitions, thus far, have been the Lakers with Nash and Brooklyn (yes, the Nets are now in New York) with the re-signing of Deron Williams. Of course, whatever happens with center Dwight Howard will change the landscape of the league. But for now, one could argue that each conference has just a few teams that could honestly contend for a title. The Western Conference's Lakers weren't one of them in June; they are now in July, thanks to Nash, an ageless passing extraordinaire.

And while the Eastern Conference's Nets probably won't eclipse the Heat or Celtics (the Bulls are a question mark, due to Derrick Rose's recovery from a knee injury), the Nets will likely be a top-four Eastern team, thanks to a talented nucleus built this summer. General manager Billy King and assistant GM Bobby Marks made a multitude of moves, signing the point guard Williams, the big man Brook Lopez (19.2 points per game), the versatile stat guy Gerald Wallace and, finally, trading for an all-star shooter, Joe Johnson.

One could argue that the Nets are in too deep with these contracts, notably Johnson, who has four years and nearly $90 million left on his deal (and they gave up a lottery pick for Wallace). But with their inability to nab Howard, the Nets wanted to make a splash heading into a new city and new arena. And Williams admitted the signing of Johnson enticed Williams to pass on his hometown of Dallas and re-sign with Brooklyn.

Oh yes, remember Dallas?

What a situation. The Mavericks were on the top of the NBA world just 13 months ago, freshly minted champions, the LeBron Squashers. But with key players getting older, Dallas' plan was to dump guys, build cap space and sign stars - because in an NBA realm, this city is awesome (major market, championship pedigree, devoted ownership). A summer ago, folks gushed about this summer being when Dallas would reload, possibly with Howard or Williams. The Mavs got neither. Last season, they were the No. 7 seed. This season, they could end up with the No. 7 pick in the draft.

Over in Houston, the Rockets are trying to do the same thing. No, Houston is not New York or L.A., but that city too has some panache in NBA circles. With Brooklyn falling out of the Howard sweepstakes ? the Magic is still looking for a trade partner ? Houston has traded players and used an amnesty on Luis Scola in efforts to have cap space for a superstar (or, specifically, Superman).

As ESPN.com reported Friday, the Rockets are working on an offer to Orlando.

The Rockets also signed international sensation Jeremy Lin to a three-year, $25 million offer sheet, but a source told ESPN.com that the Knicks "will match any offer on Lin up to $1 billion."

But even with Howard, is Houston a contender? The answer is likely "no" right now, but that's the beauty of cap space and having a superstar: You're likely to land another one, assuming you're in an enticing city.

This was seen, of course, in Miami. And now it's gotten to the point where key role players are actually taking a pay cut to play with Miami's Big Three. The biggest get for executive Pat Riley has been Ray Allen, the former Celtic who couldn't beat 'em, so he joined 'em.

Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294, bhochman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nuggetsnews

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Marquee moves

NBA free agency is in full swing. A look at some of the moves that should make good teams great:

Steve Nash to the Lakers. The assist machine joined the Lakers, making Kobe Bryant's life a whole lot easier.

Ray Allen to the Heat. The sharpshooter averaged 14.2 points per game last season. His 3s will complement The Big Three.

Jason Terry to the Celtics. One of the NBA's top sixth men will bolster the bench of the talented veteran-laden squad.

The Brooklyn haul. The Nets acquired four key guys this month ? Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez.

Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post

Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-sports-nuggets/~3/1WFv6qyeGHo/few-roads-lead-nba-dynasty-today

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